Inside the New York Yankees clubhouse with MLB.com beat writer Bryan Hoch.

Game 94: Yankees vs. Rays

ST. PETERSBURG — It’s possible (though not likely) that two Yankees could make their Major League debut at Tropicana Field tonight.

Brandon Laird, called up yesterday after Ramiro Pena‘s appendectomy, is finally active after a flight delay forced him to arrive late yesterday. On Tuesday, it was lefty Steve Garrison who was called up from Double-A Trenton to take the place of righty Sergio Mitre, who’s battling a bacterial infection but was placed on the DL because of shoulder tendinitis.

More on all that soon, but here are the lineups prior to what most will agree is a very important start for Bartolo Colon …

I don’t wish an injury on anyone except for MeatlessTray & the entire redsox organization. Here’s a reclamation project for Cashman to kick the tires on…Aaron Heilman. They really should bring up Igawa & let him earn some of his $$$$ even if he blows.

A few other notes from last nights game….the rays attempted 5 Bunt attempts on colon…thats smart….it shows a game plan…Girardi …I have to give him credit when it comes to handling a bullpen…if logan handles that one hopper right to him, its a double play and the yanks probably win that game. Not the managers fault there…As far as line-ups…you MUST group players together in a line-up that compliment each other or are all hitting the ball well..hitters that are on a hot streak need to be near or at the top of the line-up…Example:..Jeter, Posada and Martin all got 4 at bats and Gardner got 3…the game ending before Gardner could come up again….is that smart? Answer…NO…its stupid and shows a lack of not knowing whats going on with your team!!!…In a one run game you wouldn’t want to see Gardner get on base or have a chance to get on and steal?…I’m not a manager and have never been one…but this is common sense…don’t lose a game because you didn’t give your team the best chance to WIN…also don’t bat the fastest player on your team behind the SLOWEST RUNNER in the league (Posada)…enough said….hes poor when it comes to line-ups and adjustments…

TOUGH loss for Colon. IMO the official scorer should have rewarded the loss to Logan not Colon. itdibo you are right there, Maddon certainly outcoached Joe in that inning. Logan had to face the first guy the second guy is where the questioning needs to be. As I posted above this team NEEDS another lefty out of the pen. Logan is NOT getting the job done. Perhaps he rooms with Meat Tray and he’s rubbing off on him.

A little subtle thing that maybe most of us didn’t notice but did you notice how Girardi brings in a lefty Logan and he immediately has to face 2 righties and when did tampa win the game…in those next 2 batters…..Madden can out manage Girardi anytime, anywhere even if he is undermanned…now we face Price and Shields the next 2…..Also, last thought…take a look at the averages of these tampa hitters…3b…235…ss .199..2b….221…cf…250…lf…240…catcher-rookie…they literally do not have even 1 hitter on the team!!!….but when you pitch you don’t need many runs….like the Pirates….good night all…

I don’t feel good about this loss tonight. it really hurts. Everything fell apart in the 7th inning and spoiled what had been a great pitching performance by Colon. So we stay at 1 1/2 behind again when we had a chance of gaining ground.
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A great game up to the 7th inning and then all #ell breaks loose for the Yankees. Now in the Rays 8th inning Wade just walks a batter on a full count. Yanks can’t apply any pressure when they’re up but the Jays have been battling like crazy in the late innings. They deserve to win this game more than the Yankees. The way the Yankees have been hitting I don’t think they have a hope of pulling it out in the 9th inning. And they’re up against the Rays closer trying to do it. A few guys really need to look themselves in the mirror after tonight. An embarrassing loss.

Gardner now hitting .290 and leads the league in stolen bases now….14 or 15 in a row without being caught……but bat him 8th….sheesh…..see if you can get Posada on base in front of him, the slowest runner in the league….makes a lot of sense….Clueless Joe Girardi…

Not to mention that stupid jump rainbow throw that Jeter loves…if he plants his feet and gets something on the throw he gets him, its a catcher running….didn’t like that, those 2 or 3 steps you take to jump in the air, then the looping throw??…Thats how the inning started and got Colon out of the game….Bad game for Jeter….and Logan has an easy DP ball and doesn’t get even 1 out….Logan deserves the loss even with Granderson’s miss play, which is because of that stupid roof they have there….bad game here….

Orioles beat the Sox. Yankees could have moved within a half game. Should have had this game wrapped up. How many things could go wrong in one inning. Now I hear the Yankees hit into a double play in the 8th. I wonder sometimes how the Yankees have remained as close to the Sox as they have over the past month. They’ve done it with a patched up team and with very little offense.

How did you enjoy the little league defence? Grandy loses the ball in the roof. Logan makes a feeble effort to reach for the ball and it hits the top of his glove. A run scores. Grandy makes a good catch but then airmails the ball to home. What a way to ruin Colon’s great pitching performance. What has happened with the Yankees offense? We were complaining at one point that the Yankees were scoring too many runs via the home run and needed to find other ways. Who would not take too many runs now via the home run. The home run has dried up for the Yankees but so has everything else. Grandy after blowing the inning has a chance to redeem himself and strikes out. Not pretty.

I’m with you man. Crashman better be on the phone. Is it any wonder why this team struggles so much on offense. Jeter has been having his problems as a leadoff hitter, Tex is struggling, Posada has been terrible, this team has nothing but GARBAGE at the catching position. I haven’t seen such mediocre talent at that position for this team since before Posada. Neither Martin nor Cervelli can hit their weight, literally, that just won’t cut it. Heck, don’t even know how well Martin can continue to hold up with his bad back and his surgically repaired knee. I still wouldn’t be surprised to see Montero up with the team some time down the road, but you know how this organization babies its prospects.That’s one position that represents a gaping hole in the offense. This team is going to need to upgrade all those problem areas in order to give itself a chance to win.

Another concern is the way this team continues to burn through its bullpen and it’s only July. So far this team has had starters go 7+ innings 4 times, two of them were by Sabbathia, that’s not good. The way things are going this team is going to need another arm in the rotation who is capable of getting deep into games like Jimenez or get another arm. It’s not likely Garrison is the answer considering how poorly he has pitched in the minors, he looks like just another average arm who might get ripped. These guys need to do a better job and Girardi is going to have to show more willingness to let these guys go deeper. i thought Colon could have gone 7 innings easy, but I can understand why Girardi would take him out when he did, such is the price you have to pay when you have a pitcher who is getting old, had serious health issues, hasn’t pitched a full season in years and is still recovering from an injury, like Colon. I can understand the reluctance to stay with a pitcher like that for long periods during a game. This team needs someone better than Garrison, I’ve heard the Yanks have an interest in Mike Adams of the Padres, and they should. His stuff is electric and has been compared to Rivera with his cutter, but I don’t think they will get him since he will be far too expensive.

Anybody think Jeter should remain in the #1 position? Come on. He’s lost it. He’s not the hitter he used to be by a mile. Sure he’s hit 3000 and that’s great, but get him in critical situations with men on base and he strikes out or grounds out. Over and over again. And again runners on 2nd and 3rd and Jeter doesn’t get them in. It’s becoming boring to watch and frustrating at the same time.

I don’t know if this is coincidence or injuries…but Niova only pitched 1.1 innings tonight and was taken out and Montero is not in the line-up…trade in the works?
Probably not…just weird and I hope Nova isn’t hurt…Montero is coming back from amsore back, so probably just a game off here…RGK…know anything about Nova?

“Ivan Nova left his start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday after just 1 1/3 innings upon turning his right ankle. Details on the severity of Nova’s injury were not immediately available.”-Alden Gonzalez

A low strike zone for this umpire. He’s been calling them all night but must admit he does it for both teams. It’s still a nail biter. it’s got to open up here somewhere. Probably when the starter gives way to the bull pen.

Again, problems without many viable solutions! (this is where me & the boss fell out)
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Nunez is hitting .353 over his last 10 games but has commited 12 errors between SS/3B this year. Your other option right now hasn’t seen major league action (although is hitting .266 at SWB) – we would like Chavez back, but he’s been out since May 5th, he’s going to need some serious time to get back. Unfortunately until Chavez is fit & healthy Nunez IS the best option we have at third, you might not see him as a viable starter, but i feel that he has potential to cover without being a disaster!
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We all know Tex hasn’t been hitting for weeks, but ultimately Long has to work with him on the swing, but how do we know he’s not playing hurt? Yikes man i know you want people to be able to fix things quickly, but this slump is as much head based as it is in his swing and well, that’s going to take time. (in the time it’s taken me to type he’s doubled & scored via Cano’s HR) Yes he’s being paid millions of dollars to hurt baseballs, but hey, doesn’t always work like that!
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oh and i’m watching whatever coverage we happen to get over here – no baseball package in Scotland where the average local won’t take a baseball bat seriously unless it has a rusty nail driven through it :D

Come on. Fixing Tex overnight? He hasn’t been hitting for weeks. he’s been stuck at 25 home runs for ever and his batting average keeps diving. This didn’t happen last week. I’ve been seeing this going on for over a month at least. What games are you watching Allan? Let’s be realistic here too. Nice to be positive about Texeira but come on. This guys is being paid a pile of money.

Sorry, I don’t think Nunez is a bonafide starter. Did he ever look silly swinging at a couple of pitches way out of the strike zone. I don’t think he’s the long term answer while ARod is out. The sooner we can get Chavez back the better or we need to trade for an infielder with more experience and send Nunez back to the minors or more seasoning.

Time to play a fun game my old boss used to play – you’ve found problems now see solutions.
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now you’ve pointed out the problem with Tex, it’s not a secret, we all know his timing’s off – so take him out of third, but replace him with who? We don’t HAVE anyone who can go third realistically at the moment, Cano is hitting cleanup while A-rod’s on the DL and he’s the only viable option. Ofcourse you could pick guys not hitting even Tex’s avg (Posada, Martin), maybe guys better suited to other spots in the order (Gardner, Granderson, Jeter), someone hitting just a shade over Tex (Swisher) or a rookie (Nunez). So the answer to “how long can we put up with Tex in the 3 spot” question is simple – until August 15th at the very earliest, 5 weeks removed from A-rod’s surgery.
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You can only do the best with what you have at your disposal at any given time – and right now, that’s what’s happening. I don’t doubt Long is working with Tex on getting the swing right, but ultimately you can’t expect the man to fix things overnight, he’s a batting coach – not a miracle worker!

Who were the two guys I was talking about? What did they do in the 1st innings? Strike out, what else? Man Girardi needs to shake up this lineup. You can’t just keeping going with the same old. Some time you’ve got to say, “We’ve waited long enough. We’ve got to make a change”. Sure guys aren’t going to like it but is it about being liked as a manager? I hope not.

When is Cashman and Girardi finally going to realize that Jeter is not the best player any more in the #1 position. He doesn hit enough. He’s not fast enough. He doesn’t get on base enough. it’s time to put Gardner there and move Jeter further down the lineup. Also how long do we put up with Tex in #3. I know he makes a lot of money. He’s a good defender at 1st base. But at the plate he is uppercutting everything, swinging wildly at pitches out of the zone, grounding out, striking out. He’s just not getting it done and hasn’t for some time. Time to move him down into 5th spot at last or take him out of the lineup for a while and wor on his mechanics. What’s gone wrong with this guy? Can Long not fix it? He hasn’t homered for ages and his BA is way below his career batting average It’s time to forget about what you’ve done in the past but what are you doing for us now. I know it always is “you have to give hitter time to turn it around. Good hitters eventually will right themselves” blah blah blah. But for how long? We’re past the half way point now.

I dunno, maybe a few people will miss Mitre – namely anyone with a bat in their hand with him on the mound? (that was a bit harsh!) But yeah, not likely to be missed and i think would make many a fan happy if they gave him a locker next to Kei Igawa who he seemingly shares a popularity rating with! If Colon can pitch clean tonight it should go a ways to proving last time out was just a bad night at the office.

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